Help us build the Uweza Community Center and Name One of the Rooms!

A community center is something that we have been thinking about for a long time and we hope in the next few months that it will become a reality.

From our website:

"The Uweza Community Center will provide an office, meeting and storage space for our current programs and will be a launching point for new community-run initiatives. The center will give Kibera residents, especially youth, a safe space to exchange ideas, explore talents and interests, and develop income generating activities that they enjoy.

Youth in Kibera very rarely have the opportunity to develop creatively.There is a lot of pressure for youth to perform well academically and school curriculum is largely focused around memorization and repitition. Talents and interest in the arts, theater, sports, and other activities may go untapped for the entirety of their lifetime because they lacked an avenue to explore these areas. The community center will allow youth to flourish in ways that will build self-esteem and enrich their lives.

Our Kenyan staff have continuously requested opportunities for income generation, observing that many youth are not able to finish school or turn to a life of drugs, crime, early pregnancy and marriage, and continue a cycle of poverty that has persisted for generations. The Community Center will allow a space for business and finance training, skills building, business mentorship, and small-business development.

Uweza is Swahili for "power, opportunity and capability" and we hope that the community center will encapsulate all of these words. We believe that what will truly fight poverty and empower the residents of Kibera is allowing them to find solutions and inspiration within themselves."

We are hoping to get the center up and running by April of this year but need a huge fundraising push to reach our goal.

Please check out www.uweza.org/communitycenter.html and make a donation. There is a donation tracking tool on the site and every little bit helps. As an added bonus, every person that donates online (even $1.00) to support the Uweza Community Center between now and March 15, 2011 will enter a random drawing to name one of the rooms in the center!

If you can't donate, share the site with family and friends and help us spread the word! Thank you!

Field Clean Up and Uniform Washing

We have recently been trying to get our players more actively engaged in the team in ways other than just showing up to practice and playing soccer. We want them to feel ownership of the team and to gain a sense of responsibility and pride in what they are doing.

In December, the players and coaches all participated in a clean-up of the field that they use every week. The field belongs to a school and the grass often grows long without being cut and trash is regularly dumped on the field. The coaches suggested that the teams start participating in regular field clean-ups so that they learn to take care of the place where they play (and earn the good graces of the school that allows us to use their field). It was also a bonding experience as all ages of players gathered together to pitch in. As a part of our points program, players were given extra points for participating.




More pictures of the field clean-up have been posted on our photo page.

Washing of our uniforms has formerly been taken care of by our coaches or by someone hired and paid to wash them. Our head coach suggested that we start allowing the older boys to wash the uniforms and earn something in return for their work. Starting in January, the older boys have been washing the uniforms every week in order to earn a new pair of shoes to play in. Each player is credited 200 Kenya Shillings (or about $2.50 USD) every time he washes. A pair of soccer shoes costs around 800-1,000 Kenya Shillings. After about a month and a half, many of the boys have washed enough times to earn a new pair of shoes that will be given to them this week. Most of the shoes that we purchase stay at the field and are used only during practices or matches but these shoes will be special to the boys as they have put in the work to earn ownership of them. Great for the boys and great for us as our uniforms are now always clean!